1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a convection oven.
2. Description of Related Art
Convection ovens are used in the art to heat or dehydrate products. FIG. 1 illustrates a rear end review of a prior art convection oven 101. The oven 101 has a conveyor 105 upon which product 106 rests. The width of the conveyor 105 is illustrated. The conveyor 105 travels in the direction perpendicular to the width. The oven has a plenum 102 through which heated air is supplied to the oven. The plenum 102 directs air above and below the conveyor. Air is introduced to the product 106 through nozzles 104.
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the conveyor 105 and the nozzles 104 need to be frequently inspected, cleaned, and repaired. Currently, this is accomplished by removing access panel 103. Access is not provided through the plenum 102 as this would require completely disassembling many parts of the oven 101. Consequently, access is limited to the access panel 103 which can only be reached after removing the oven shell 120. As can be seen, accessing nozzles 104 as well as the conveyor 105 located on the left of FIG. 1 is very difficult, particularly for wide and long industrial sized ovens. Thus, it is desirable to provide an oven with increased accessibility for cleaning and repairs while maintaining operating conditions in the oven.